Round Two - King - Family Men

Duncan's courtship of Alima Bhalli appears to be going somewhere despite some trouble on the way. His sister-in-law is expecting her second child and his temperamental brother seems to be getting used to the idea that Duncan's still around - perhaps a little too late.

"Pregnancy suits you," said Adrian cheerfully. "You've got a glow about you."

"Thank you!" Noriko smiled. "I could do with some ice-cream, though... I don't suppose you could go to the store and get me some?"

Adrian sighed. He needed to finish a project for work, but he supposed he couldn't exactly deny his wife her pregnancy cravings. It takes two to make a baby, after all.


His brother Duncan's romantic escapades were going a little better. Alima had really come round to the idea now her kids had expressed their approval, and they celebrated by heading off to Sim City and hitting the clubs downtown.


After a soak in the hot-tub (what kind of a club has a hot-tub, anyway?) Duncan mustered up the courage to do something he'd wanted to do for a long time. He grabbed his jeans, rooted around in the pockets, and produced a diamond engagement ring.

"Alima Bhalli, will you do me the honour of becoming my wife?"

For a moment he thought she was going to refuse. She had a troubled look on her face, as if the decision wasn't as easy and heart-felt as it should have been. But the expression passed in a brief second and she accepted with a smile on her face.

"Of course! But I've got one question - where the hell did you pull that out from?!"

"My jeans! Wow, you've got a dirty mind."


She hugged him tightly. "I love you, Duncan. I know I've not been as warm as I could have been, but - "

"It doesn't matter now. All in the past. What matters is you're showing how you feel now."


Noriko was nearing the end of her pregnancy but her appetite hadn't diminished one bit. Even when she wasn't "eating for two" she LOVED food - it was her second great passion in life after raising children. It was a wonder she kept her slim figure, but she was apparently blessed with a fast metabolism.


True to form, Noriko gave birth just as she was preparing lunch (still in her pyjamas). Adrian was at work and Nathaniel was at school, so it was up to Duncan to rush her to the hospital.


Noriko gave birth to a healthy baby girl she and Adrian named Miranda. Miranda took after her parents equally in looks so far and was an easy and pleasant child to look after.


Nathaniel was excited to have a baby sister and helped out whenever he could. It was a shame he'd be heading off to college soon and missing out on Miranda's early years.


Duncan made time to help out too. Looking at his newborn niece made him realise how much he wanted kids of his own, but considering how skittish Alima had been about the proposal he was worried it wouldn't be any time soon...

Round Two - Darwin - Art Star

Harvey Darwin has dreams of opening his own shop selling his artwork, but will his skills ever live up to his ambitions, and can he remember to focus on his family for more than ten minutes?


Harvey had decided to bite the bullet and set up shop in the front room of the family home. Sure, his paintings weren't exactly at masterpiece level yet, but there was time. Plus he could always stock a few wholesale items to get the business up and running while he perfected his skills.


One of the skills he needed to perfect turned out to be operating the cash register.

"Jeez, Dad, it's not that hard!" laughed Tom as he checked out one of the customers. "Way to be an old relic."

"I'm not the old relic, this register is! If you're so smart you try it..." muttered Harvey.


Tom had better things to do than deal with creaky cash-registers. His brief romance was getting a little too serious for his liking.

"Do you want to go out bowling later? Just me and you. I can borrow my dad's car, it's got a big back seat..."

"Look, I know you like me and everything... I hate to say it, you're really hot, but I've got to be free to do my own thing."

His blonde paramour looked a little stunned. "Whatever. I'm not in love with you or anything - I mean, you do realise I'm not the exclusive type either, right? You just lost a lot of free make-outs." She stormed off, but Tom wasn't too worried. There were plenty of hot chicks at college. He could wait. Plus she'd cool down in a few days anyway.


Adele was busy trying to advance at work and keep in shape but she still made time for Sam. He was such a sweet, friendly little boy and she hated the idea of him only having his big brother for company... thank goodness for Verity's child-rearing skills. She knew a lost cause when she saw one, and despite her best efforts that was what Tom was in her eyes.


Harvey may have been wrapped up in his new business but he still had enough time to "get physical" - but unfortunately he and Adele were just as careless as ever about taking precautions...


Adele soon found out she was pregnant. AGAIN. She was less than happy. The first person she told was her mother-in-law Verity who was predictably over the moon. She hadn't exactly kept the fact she wanted more grandchildren a secret.

"How are we going to cope?" wailed Adele. "Harvey hasn't got time for anyone as it is, and I've got my job to think about..."

"Leave it to me," said Verity cheerfully. "Sam's growing up so fast and I miss having a little baby in the house... you and Harvey can do your own thing, I'll always be there for my grandchildren. Don't worry so much!"


It didn't take long before the pregnancy started to show and Adele had to take maternity leave. She hated being cooped up and even though she'd been feeling extremely fatigued and the doctor had recommended bed-rest she couldn't stand the idea of lying around.


Her body had other ideas, however. After falling asleep in her dinner for the third time she admitted defeat and went back to bed. She'd never wanted a huge family... how had it come to this?!

Gameplay notes: THEY ARE SO DYSFUNCTIONAL seriously. But ACR does what it will, and at least Verity had a want for a grandchild so the poor thing isn't completely unwelcome.

Round Two - Bhalli - Intrusion

The Bhalli twins, Jace and Petal, are getting on with their lives in a new neighbourhood. So is their mother Alima - to the point that they seem to have a prospective step-dad on the scene. How will Jace and Petal deal with this intrusion on their space?

(I've started naming the posts now... inspired by Mao, possibly the queen of Sims blogs. Plus I usually have SO MUCH TROUBLE naming anything and these are coming pretty easy, and it helps me keep what's going on in some kind of order!)

Alima and Duncan's last date may have been a little disasterous, but things were getting back to normal. She had explained that she was a bit skittish - she hadn't dated anyone since Petal and Jace's father, and he'd run a mile when she'd gotten pregnant. But Duncan wasn't like that and he was trying his best to put her at his ease. Still, Petal couldn't help being a little resentful at the drastic change in the status-quo.


Whatever they were doing, whatever time of day, it seemed like Duncan was always there. He wasn't, of course - he had a job and responsibilities of his own. But still...


Jace had no such qualms. He really looked up to Duncan - he'd never had a father-figure in his life, seeing as his grandfather had pretty much disowned Alima because of him and Petal, and it was a pleasant change. Petal left them to it.


Duncan wasn't the only member of the King family getting all up in Petal's personal space. Jace had made friends with Nathaniel and he often came over. In Petal's opinion he was just a dumb jock - the fact they were in various honours classes meant nothing! Nothing! And so what if he was cute...


But soon she got a little more accustomed to Duncan and Nathaniel being around and bothered to get to know them. Nathaniel may have been into sports, but he was actually kind of funny and could talk to her about physics and mechanics for hours if she let him. Plus she was beginning to realise how cute he was... sports were a wonder for the body, it seemed.


Jace wasn't quite as scientific but he tried to get in on their conversations when they all sat down for a post-school snack.

"You two are the science boffins - d'you reckon aliens exist? That would be so cool."

"Let's just humour him," said Nathaniel with a smile.

"Hey!"


Alima had decided to take her relationship with Duncan to the next level. She knew he was in love with her and didn't know if she felt the same yet, but it couldn't hurt to try, right? Anyway, why shouldn't she have fun? She had needs, just like anyone else, and it HAD been a while.


The twins still made time for their car in between their new-found passion for socialising, and it was nearly finished! Jace couldn't wait to have a ride of his own...


Soon all of them were back to their usual selves as Petal came to terms with the fact her life was changing, but they'd always be a family.

"Congratulations on acing that test, Jace! I never knew you had it in you!"

"I'll take that as a compliment."

Alima watched her children joke-bicker in happiness. Maybe Duncan was good for them all. She'd see how things went, and whether he was ready to really commit...